1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tire covers, and more particularly, pertains to covers for a spare tire that is externally mounted on a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A cover for a spare tire that is carried externally on a vehicle is a well known, popular and useful accessory. The tire cover serves to protect the spare tire/wheel combination from the elements, and additionally enhances the aesthetics of the vehicle on which it is fitted. Tire covers which display logos or messages thereon are especially popular with both the end user as well as advertisers.
While the use of hard-shelled spare tire covers was popular in the past, soft and flexible designs are now favored. Such covers offer substantial savings in weight and cost and are relatively quickly and easily affixed about a spare tire. The flexibility and compactability of flexible designs make them especially appealing to the after-market supply industry by reducing packaging, shipping and shelving costs.
The placement of a logo or message on the cover is an effective marketing tool, initially because of its appeal to the consumer and ultimately to an advertiser due to the high visibility of a message when so prominently displayed on the back of a vehicle. Existing flexible tire covers are typically simply wrapped over the spare tire and retained on the tire with an elastic or tie at the inner or back side of the cover. While this arrangement usually suffices to keep the cover over the tire, complications arise when a logo is placed on the cover in that extra effort must be expended to ensure that the cover is properly mounted on the tire such that the logo is upright or in its favored orientation. In addition, wind buffeting and the like can cause the cover to shift during use, resulting in an undesirable misaligned orientation. In order to minimize the shifting of the tire cover once it is installed over the tire, the elastic or tie at the inner or back side of the tire cover may be strengthened so as to increase the grip by the tire cover of the tire over which it is installed. In so doing, the installation of the tire cover over the tire demands the exertion of additional force by the user sufficient to work the strengthened elastic or tie. As a result, heretofore known soft tire covers are either susceptible to misalignment of the logo or message thereon or require an inordinate amount of effort to install.
In view of the above, it would be advantageous to provide a very compact, inexpensive, and easy to install flexible tire cover for the externally mounted spare tire of a vehicle, which provides protection for the tire from the elements, aesthetically enhances the appearance of the vehicle on which it is installed, and also ensures that the upright or favored orientation of a logo or message on the cover is achieved during mounting and is maintained throughout use.